Colombia is known for its coffee, and whether you drink it regularly both at home and not, make sure to sample it while going to the country. Tintos are extremely small glasses of coffee which are often in love with the streets, from thermoses. Sometimes you’ll see vendors rolling shopping carts having a dozen or even more thermoses around, attempting to keep up with demand.
Education is free and compulsory for five years in Colombia. Illiteracy is declining, having dropped from an estimated 90% at the end of the 19th century to an estimated 8.2% in 2000 (males, 8.2%; females, 8.2%).
Roman Catholicism was the country's official religion until the adoption of the 1991 constitution. The law states that there is no official or state religion but adds that the State is "not atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent to Colombians' religious sentiment."